Hair Straightener
by LuckyKaz
Summary: Through a small mistake and a lot of fluff, Konoka teaches our favorite sensei a little about what goes on in a girl's mind when she looks in the mirror. Hints of Asuna/Negi and maybe Konoka/Setsuna, if you want it to be. Oneshot. Go lame title!


I really should be working on my other fanfiction, Hahaha~ But I am but a slave to inspiration, and it spat this out. Hints of Asuna/Negi, mostly just rambling fluff. I'm only up to chapter 89 in the manga, so forgive me if some of their personalities are different from later on or something like that. I tried really hard to keep them in character, because this plot was something random I thought up and just threw them in.

Also, I forgot the ninja girl's name..I fail. I THINK it's Nagase, but if i'm wrong, someone correct me, please?

Also, R&R. I am totally new to the Negima fandom, so feedback would be much much much appreciated. c:

* * *

"Ah, Asuna-san, Konoka-san?Are you home?"

Negi closed the door behind him softly as he entered his, Asuna's, and Konoka's dorm, frowning as he hung his coat up in the closet. "Asuna-san?"

"Oh...Ow!" He heard from the bathroom. Tentatively, he peeked around the corner of the door.

Asuna was standing in front of the mirror, sucking at her index finger on one hand and holding some sort of metal object in her other. "Asuna-san, what happened? Are you all right?" he asked worriedly, opening the door a bit more.

She jumped, obviously having not seen him, and removed her finger from her mouth, sticking it in his face. "I just burned it, that's all. Straightening hair is a real pain." She sighed, bringing the iron contraption to her hair. Negi cocked his head. "Straightening?" he questioned, giving the metal object a long glance, trying to figure out what it was. It almost looked like the fancy sugar tongs his sister used to use during her tea parties...

"Straightening.I'm straightening my hair. Don't tell me you don't know what that is?" Asuna asked, clamping the metal tongs on a strand of her long hair and smoothing it down. Negi's mouth made a small O at the steam that issued from it. "A-Asuna-san, That thing is..burning? Isn't that dangerous?" He fretted.

She laughed. "It's not dangrous at all..Well, unless you burn yourself." She set the straightner on the counter and turned to look at him. "All it does it make your hair straight, see?" she held up the strand of hair she'd just used it on; Indeed it was stick-straight now, without its usual bouncy waves.

"But..why?"

Asuna turned back to the straightener and smiled. "Makie-chan lent it to me..The new trend is perfect, straight hair. I'm just trying it."

"The trend?" Negi blinked. Asuna watched his face in the mirror as he looked at the ground, watching it change into a frown as a small huff popped from his mouth.

"Oi, what's that face supposed to mean, Negi-brat?" she growled, bopping him lightly on the head with her free hand.

"Oh..No, it's nothing.." Negi said quickly, with a smile, turning to leave the bathroom.

Asuna rolled her eyes. "Negiii.." she hissed menacingly, clamping a hand on his shoulder.

"W-Well it's just, I never thought Asuna-san would be the type to care about trends and what other people do...that's..all." he squeaked, flustered, as she scowled, her eyebrows snapping together.

"I don't." she snapped. "Can't I do something for me?" She whirled on him, giving him a swift push out of the bathroom. "Go find someone else to bother!"

"W-Wait, Asuna-san!" he cried, realizing he'd angered her again. He really didn't understand girls at all-Why did they have to be so confusing? "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..Whatever I did!" He called through the door, But there was no reply except for an angry "Leave me alone!", and he slumped onto the floor outside of it, sighing.

At this moment, Konoka bustled through the front door, her arms heavily laden with groceries. Spying Negi on the floor, her lips spread into a cheery smile. "Ah, Hello, Negi-sensei."

"Oh!" Negi started, quickly leaping up to help her with the bags.

"Thank you." she chirped,dumping a few into his arms and turning to unload a few cans of juice into the refrigerator.

"Where's Asuna?" she asked. There was a crash as the bags Negi had been holding tumbled to the floor, his eyes welling up with tears. "Ah, No, I'm sorry..!" He exclaimed, quickly wiping his eyes with his sleeve and gathering the bags up again. "She's..in the bathroom.." he mumbled, trying not to let her see his tears.

"Did you two have another fight?" Konoka asked gently, trying not to upset him any more than he already was.

Negi did not take his eyes off of the kitchen counter, which he was staring at determinedly with wet eyes. "She..got mad at me.I don't know what I did! I always make her mad.."

Konoka sighed, propelled him toward the table,and brought out a small snack of takoyaki she'd bought on the way home. "Here, calm down." she soothed. "Eat something; When did you have lunch? What did you say to make her angry?"

"I don't know! She was just..." he struggled to remember. "Straightening her hair!" He said triumphantly, miming doing just that with his hands (Konoka snorted at the action),"And then she kicked me out.."

"But what did you _say_?" Konoka pried, pushing the snacks toward him, knowing that even Asuna, with her quick temper, had to have some reason for becoming angry enough to shake Negi-sensei like this.

"Well..she said she got the straightener from Makie-san...because of the trend...and then I said that I was suprised to see that she was _into_ trends.."

"Oh." Konoka said simply, realizing almost immediately what had happened.

" 'Oh?' " Negi questioned. "Do you know why she's angry?!" he asked quickly, almost jerking up from the table.

Konoka smiled a little,patting the table in a motion for him to sit and relax. She glanced out the window at the bright blue sky, watching the fluffy clouds drift across the windowpane and Negi watched her, wondering what she was thinking and giving a small jump when she began to speak. "Negi-sensei...You know all girls want to look nice, right?" she didn't take her eyes off the clouds,tracing their movement with her eyes and continuing before he could reply: "They all may have different reasons, but all girls want to look their best..for themselves, and for others. It may be for...training, for instance. Maybe they want everyone to know they're fit. Or maybe they want to look good for someone they like. Or maybe they want to display their heritage through traditional clothing."

Negi thought he knew exactly which girls Konoka was speaking of, images of Nagase, Nodoka, and Ku Fei passing through his mind's gallery.

"But either way...It may not be for others, but themselves. A girl wants to be able to look in the mirror and feel good about herself, no matter the reason." She brought her gaze back to Negi's, her face brightening. "What do you think when you look at Se-chan, sensei?"

"W-Wha? W-well I usually think she looks nice..and, professional."

"Yes." Konoka nodded. "That's exactly right. That's how she wants to look. Can you imagine Se-chan in some frilly dress or anything of that sort?"

"Well, N-no, not-"

"Because she wouldn't think she'd look good in it-Even though she would." She paused, frowning, before continuing." She'd still feel most comfortable, and most happy with herself in her eyes, with her own style. Do you see, Negi-sensei?"

Negi's eyes got wide and round. "You mean..Asuna-san just wants to be happy with herself? But I.." He got up quickly, realization dawning in his gaze. "I have to go apologize!"

Our of the corner of her eye, Konoka spotted the bathroom's doorknob turning. "Negi-sensei, what do you think of Asuna?" she asked hurriedly.

Sure enough, the bathroom door was paused, opened just a small crack. Negi blinked, a blush crawling over his face. "Well..A-Asuna-san always looks nice..And..very beautiful..I mean, everyone I've met here is beautiful, I mean, well, only the girls, because if it was boys it would just be awkward, and um.."

Negi fluttered around, his face red as a tomato, and Konoka giggled. "Negi-sensei, you're so silly." she cooed, rubbing his hair.

"Eh?" He replied, having utterly confused himself.

Behind the bathroom door, Asuna smiled.


End file.
